A padlocked toe and a sickle across throat to ‘prevent her returning from the dead’
Researchers have made an astonishing discovery in a Polish village’s cemetery; they’ve found the remains of a centuries-old female who was pinned to the ground and buried.
Roughly a half-hour drive from the town of Bydgoszcz, the discovery was made in Pień by a staff of Toruń Nicholas Copernicus College Researchers.
According to the researchers, the skeleton dates back to the seventeenth century. The remains show a sickle around the neck and padlocked toe that is believed to be positioned there to “prevent her from coming back to life” and to maintain the supernatural being from rising from the grave.
Additionally, the girl was buried with a silk cap, which according to the archaeologists indicates her high rank in the society. A front tooth can also be seen jutting out of her mouth, probably an attribute that would have raised suspicions and amounted to her being termed a vampire.
The leader of the research team, Professor Dariusz Polinski has stated “Such a discovery, particularly right here in Poland, is astonishing, particularly now — centuries later. Pure astonishment,” to CBS News.
Polinski also told Arkeonews that there were several methods the superstitious used to protect themselves from the ones accused of being vampires or witches. The methods included cutting off their limbs, burning, stoning, and placing their faces toward the ground.
The sickle that has been found around the remains was used to cut off the head of the dead if they tried to rise again.
Further research and investigations are expected at the Polish cemetery as the researchers from Poland’s Institute of Archaeology at the University of Krakow conduct DNA-testing on the skeleton.
